Nail and separator removing spade



C. A. JUHL Nov. 12, 1940.

EPARATOR REMOVING SPADE NAIL AND 5 Filed Feb. 10, 1940 a, I" W EVEN UT C/aus fl. (/2151 Patented Nov. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 19 Claims.

The present invention relates to a novel spade construction, and is more particularly directed to a combination device for spading concrete, for removing nails from concrete forms, and for spearing loosened separators out of concrete forms.

Architects and building superintendents have long objected to the practice of pouring concrete without removing the wood separators from within concrete forms as there invariably results a joint or plane of weakness along the embedded separators in the finished concrete'wall. This practice is further objectionable as it provides a means for seepage of water through the finished concrete and destroys the smoothfacing of a completed wall. Then too, if the separators are wrenched away from the side walls of the form leaving the head of the toed nail projecting within the form, the facing of the finished wall is destroyed when the form is removed by reason of the nail head tearing away the concrete portion within which it is embedded.

In those cases where the separators are required to be removed from the forms, much valu- 25 able time is lost during pouring of the concrete particularly when they are not easily accessible, such as when used in deep, narrow forms. Additional time is also lost in fishing for a separator that has been pried or wrenched from the forms and has been dropped into the wet, freshly poured concrete.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a spade for concrete with novel means for pulling and removing 35 separators that are fastened within concrete forms.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a spade construction which is automatically adjustable and capable of removing different sizes of nails which are used in fastening varying sizes of separators to the wood side walls of concrete forms.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a spade construction capable of spear- 45 ing or picking up loose separators that fall into the freshly poured, wet concrete.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a combination spade construction for spading concrete, for pulling nails and separators, and for removing the separators from within a deep concrete form without injury either to the separators or the side walls of the form.

Another and still further object of the present invention is the provision of a spade construc- 55 tion capable of performing the above mentioned operations within nearly inaccessible places while being operated from a remote point.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an easily operated, inexpensive and durable tool performing a triple function as a spade 5 for concrete, a nail puller and a spear for removing separators-from concrete forms. The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention it- 10 self, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction together with further ob jects and advantages thereof, may best be un-' derstood by reference to the following description, taken in connection wth the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a spade embodying the principles of the present invention. p

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view, with 20 parts in elevation, taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line IIII of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional View with a part in elevation, taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line TIL-III of Figurel.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional View taken'substantially along the plane indicated by the line IV-IV of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view, with parts broken away and other parts shown in vertical cross-section, illustrating the connection between the handle of the spade and. the pair of blades pivotally connected in depending relationtherefrom.

Figure 6 is a vertical cross sectional View taken through a concrete form partially filled with -unset concrete, illustrating the manner in which the spade of this invention is used to loosen the separator from the side walls of the form. I 40 Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6, illustrating the manner of pulling a nailed separator from a side wall'of the concrete form.

As shown on the drawing The spade illustrated in Figure l and generally designated by the reference character it includes a handle H of wood or other suitable material, a split oval shaped blade composed ofadjoining half portions 82 and it, and a connecting housing id for the blade and handle.

The blade portions l2 and i3 are held in a single flat plane and define a very narrow slot S therebetween. The lower ends of the blade are beveled as at l2a-and I3a-to provide an enlarged inlet mouth for the slot S. If desired, the slot S can be closed in unstressed positions of the blade portions with the edges of the portions in engagement.

At their upper ends, the coextensive half portions of the blade provide spaced extending thrust arms l5 and I6 which terminate in inturned lip portions H and I8 (Figure 5). The throat spacing between the thrust arms is substantially spear shaped being formed by vertical edges l9 and 26 and converging edges 2! and 22, said last edges extending downwardly beyond the upper curved edges of the blade and terminating in a figureeight-shaped opening 23 formed by holes in the mating edges of the blade portions l2 and i3.

The blade portions 12 and [3 are identical with the exception of the provision of a plurality of oblong teeth 25 on the inner or slot defining edge of the blade portion I2. Each tooth 24 provides a flat shoulder 25 and a sloping shoulder edge 26, their purpose being described more fully hereinafter.

The connecting housing M has a hollow tubular portion 2'! at one end (Figure 2) shaped to receive an end of the handle H with a rivet or bolt 28 holding the parts in said connected relationship. At its other end, the housing I4 has a hollow wedge shaped portion 29 separated from the portion 2'! by bridge wa1l30, and receiving the thrust arms [5 and I6 of the blade in abutment against the wall 30.

A pivot pin 31 such as a rivet or bolt and having the cross-sectional shape of the opening 23 provided in the adjacent blades, is inserted through said opening and an, aperture provided in the side walls of the wedge shaped portion 29 of the housing, with its ends rolled or peened thereagainst. Both blades l2 and i3 are normally held against pivoting about the pivot by a U-shaped spring 32 (Figures 2 and 5), whose ends abut against the inturned lips I! and i8, its side walls engaging the vertical edges l9 and 20, and its round bottom portion seating against the converging edges 2 l and 22.

The U-shaped spring 32 provides sufficient compression to hold-the bladeportions l2 and IS in edge side-by-side contact during spading operations thereby eliminating the possibility of stones or other material from becoming jammed between the blades to maintain them in spread relationship.

A threaded opening 33, sealedby a removable plug 34, is provided in one side wall of the wedge shaped end of the housing I l through which fluid water-resistant packing 35 is inserted to fill the hollow portion surrounding the U-shaped spring 32. If desired, a solid packing such as sponge rubber or the like may also be used.

Illustrated in Figure 6, is a concrete form having side walls 36 for retaining a wet mass of freshly poured concrete 31, the side walls of the form being held in spaced arrangement by a plurality of separators 38, only one of which is shown. Each of the separators bridge the side walls, one end only being fastened to one of the side walls by a toed nail 39.

To loosen and remove a separator, the operator merely thrusts the spade I0 against its unfastened end, thereby forcing the separator end downwardly until the nail 39 is substantially horizontal. This serves to rotate the separator about an edge 40 thereby loosening the fastened or nailed end. The beveled ends of the spade are then thrust downwardly between the separator and form against the wire body of the nail 39 to guide the nail into the slot S. The blades 12 and 13 are forced apart by the nail to increase the rators, the teeth 24 are provided with a width sufficient to receive variable sizes without appreciably wedging the blades apart. It is to be understood, of course, that coarser teeth may be provided to receive heavier nails, if so desired.

The teeth 24 should be formed shallow enough to tightly hold the smallest size nail to be removed from a form side wall. If so provided, larger nails will be clamped between the edges of the slot S with sufficient force exerted through the spring 32 so that in either case the removed separator and nail can be withdrawn from the inside of the concrete form.

By applying an upward and an outward pull on the spade away from the form to which the separator is fastened, the nail engages against the square edge 25 of a tooth so that the operator is able to completely remove the nail and separator from within the form. By so doing, the operator makes use of the flexibility of the blades to supplement tension exerted on the handle in removing an embedded nail. Even though the nail should wedge between adjacent teeth 24 when the spade is thrust downwardly between the separator and forms, it will slide into the lower tooth when the operator applies an upward and an outward pull on the handle.

However, should a separator, particularly one which is soft or rotted, fall into the freshly poured concrete it may be speared by jabbing the sharpened ends 4| and 42 of the beveled ends Ma and Ba into the separator and lifting it out from within the forms. The blade portions [2 and [3 are thickened along the slot S to provide additional nail gripping surfaces as shown in Figure 4 and to provide greater stiffness for the blades to better resist bending when subjected to working stresses. I

The invention is described herein more or less precisely as to details, yet it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereby as changes may be made in the arrangements and the proportion of parts, and equivalents may be substituted, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A spade comprising a handle, a blade including coextensive half portions, means for connecting said blade portions to said handle in pivotal depending relationship, and additional means for normally maintaining said blade portions in close adjoining edge to edge relationship.

2. A tool adapted for spading and nail pulling comprising a handle, a longitudinally split spade blade depending from said handle having sharp spear-like leading edges converging into a resiliently expansible longitudinal nail receiving path and a recessed portion in said blade along said path to retain a nail therein for pulling the nail upon application of a tension force to the handle.

,3. A tool adapted for spading, spearing and nail pulling comprising a handle, a pair of com- .plementary metal plates depending from said handle in side by side relation, a pivotal connectionbetweensaid plates, resilient means urging the inner edges of the plates toward each other, nail gripping teeth along said inner-edges of the plates to retain a nail between the plates, and said plates having sharpened spear-like leading edges.

4. A spade comprising a handle, a split blade composed of separate complementary sections, a hollow housing connecting said blade sections in pivotal depending relation from said handle, means for normally maintaining the blade section in edge contact along their inner edges, and additional means provided along an inner edge of one of said blade sections for gripping an article disposed between said sections whereby said article may be removed from its position.

5. A tool comprising a handle, a pair of adjoining metal plates defining a split substantially oval-shaped blade, one of the plates having teeth provided along an inner edge thereof, a hollow 6. A concrete spade comprising a handle, a'

substantially oval-shaped split blade having one end wider than its other end, said split blade including half portions each having mating inner edges normally held in coextensive engagement, one of said edges being provided with teeth each having a flat bottom and slanting tops, the narrow ends of the half portions of said blade having sharp edges, a thrust arm extending from the Wideend of each half portion of said blade in oii'set relation from its mating edge, a hollow housing having a transverse wall intermediate its ends, one of the hollow ends of said housing being formed to lockingly receive an end of said handle, the other hollow end of said housing receiving said thrust arms, and a pivot having a round portion in each of said blade portions connecting them to said other end of the housing in pivotal depending relation therefrom at a point below said thrust arms, a spring positioned between said thrust arms and normally urging said wide ends of the blade portions apart and the narrow ends thereof together in edge contact, said blade portions acting with pincer-like action on an article engaged within one of said teeth whereby said article is removed by a pull exerted on said handle.

7. A concrete spade comprising an oval-shaped blade split along its major axis, the half portions of said blade having knife-like edges at their narrow ends, one of said half portions having oblong teeth along its split edge, each of said teeth having a square edge and a slanting cam edge, a thrust arm extending from the wide end of each of said half portions of the blade, said thrust arm having an inturned lip at its extremity, each half portion being further provided with a pivot aperture below said thrust arm and opening inwardly from its split edge, said pivot aperture and the base of said thrust arm being connected by a slanting edge, a hollow housing having a tubular end and a wedge-shaped end, a handle having an end adapted to seat and lock within said tubular end of the housing, said thrust arms engaging the side walls within the wedge-shaped end of said housing when the half portions of said blade are in contact, a pivot pin shaped end of said housing, a U-shaped spring,

having side walls engaging the inner edges of said thrust arms and held at its ends by said inturned lips and said slanting edges, said spring normally J maintaining said thrust arms in spaced arrangement for holding the split edges of the blades in edge contact, and means in a sidewall of said wedge-shaped end of the housing for filling the end thereof with water-resistant packing, said blade portions rocking about said pivotv when thrust against an embedded nail, said blade portions sliding along said nail to seat within one of said teeth, said blade portions when in edge contact acting with pincer-like action on the embedded nail engaged within one of said oblong teeth against the square edge thereof whereby said nail is removed by a pull exerted on said handle. a:

-8. A blade construction for a concrete spade and the like, comprising a split blade having pivotal connection to a handle, and means for normally maintaining said blades in edge contact, said means resisting rocking of the split portions of the blades about said pivotal connection when.

longitudinal thrust is applied thereagainst.

9. A blade construction for a concrete spade and the likecom-prising an oval-shaped blade split. along its major axis, means for maintaining and means associated with said blades for rocking them about said pivot away from said edge contact. 11. A blade construction for concrete spades and the like comprising a two-part oval-shaped blade arranged for edge engagement along major portions of their length, a portion of one of said edges having teeth for gripping an article, a pivot connection at one end of said edge contact intermediate the ends of said blades, the remaining portion of the length of said blades being in spaced edge relation when said major portions are in'said edge engagement, means for holding said blades in said edge position, and spring means between said spaced edges for maintaining said edge contact along the major portion of said blades, said blades-rocking out of said edge contact when thrust is applied at both ends thereof. 12. A tool comprising a split blade, a handle having an end arranged to embrace a portion of said blade, said handle embracing portion being arranged to retain water-resistant packing'there-- 13. A tool adapted for spading and nail pulling comprising a handle, a pivot on said handle, a split blade having half portions arranged to rock into and out of adjoining relationon said pivot, and means for normally maintaining said blade portions in said adjoining relation.

14. A tool adapted for spading and nail pulling comprising a handle, a split spade type blade arranged for partial edge engagement and terminating in a spaced throat, a pivot on said handle extending between said blade edges, and means in said throat for normally maintaining said split blade in said edge contact.

15. A tool adapted for spading and nail pulling comprising a handle, a pivot on said handle, a split spade type blade arranged for partial edge contact and terminating in a spaced throat, said pivot extending between said blade edges with itsaxis disposed in angular relation to the plane of said blade, spring means in said throat for normally maintaining said split blade in said edge contact, and nail pulling teeth along the split portion of said blade.

16. A tool adapted for spading and nail pulling comprising .a handle, a pivot on said handle, a split spade type blade arranged for partial edge contact and terminating in a spaced throat, said pivot extending between said blade edges with its axis disposed in angular relation to the plane of said blade, a U-shaped spring in said throat for normally maintaining said split blade in said edge contact, and nail pulling teeth along the split portion of said blade.

17. A tool for spading and nail removal upon application of longitudinal thrusts thereon which comprises a split blade having relatively movable parts normally held together in close adjoining relation to present a spade member, and said parts mounted for separation to engage a nail therebetween whenever the leading edge of the blade is thrust against a nail.

18. A tool comprising a handle, a blade having independent portions pivotally connected to said handle with their adjacent edges movable into close adjoining relation, and means for normally maintaining said blade portions in said adjoining edge relationship while permitting them to be rocked about said pivotal connection in a direction transversely of the longitudinal axis of said handle.

19. A tool comprising a handle, a pivot on said handle, a blade having independent portions mounted on said pivot and means for normally 'maintaining the adjacent edges of said blade portions in close adjoining relation, said blade portions being arranged for rocking movement about said pivot toward and away from each other.

CLAUS A. JUHL. 

